Kerzner International Ltd, one of four bidders for Singapore’s second casino-resort, plans to submit a proposal with an investment in excess of US$1.5 billion, Chairman Sol Kerzner said.
The owner of the Atlantis casino-resort in the Bahamas, which has tied up with Singapore’s CapitaLand Ltd for the bid, yesterday named Frank O. Gehry, designer of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, as the architect for the proposal, Bloomberg News reported.
Singapore lifted its ban on casinos last year after its share of Asia-Pacific’s tourism market fell. The government said the project’s ability to draw tourists would make up 45 percent of the consideration, while architectural design would count for 25 percent. The investment and partners would determine the rest.
Gehry is “a brand name,” said Ong Choon Fah, head of research at DTZ Debenham Tie Leung, a property consulting company in Singapore. “He can provide a unique design.”
Annual Returns
Kerzner, 70, said in Singapore yesterday that he expects annual returns of 12 percent on the capital investment in the first two to three years, and for a higher yield after that. That’s in line with other developments, he said.
Ong said the 12 percent return is similar to the yields an investor with a portfolio of global real estate would expect.
The Singapore proposal would include attractions not seen anywhere else, Kerzner said. The Paradise Island, Bahamas-based company’s Atlantis includes water rides and the world’s biggest manmade aquarium.
“We have demonstrated over the years we have the capacity to innovate with new concepts so that you can’t go from one of our resorts to another and see the same thing,” Kerzner said.
It was in response to a question on how he plans to compete with Malaysia’s Genting Bhd, which has teamed up with Universal Studios for a theme park for its proposal.
The bids are due on October 10 and the Singapore government will decide on the winning bidder by the end of the year.
Singapore awarded its first casino-resort in May to Las Vegas Sands Corp, the world’s biggest casino-resort. Las Vegas Sands and the winner of the Sentosa bid will have the Singapore market to themselves for a 10-year period before the government opens up the market to more casino operators.
Linus Chua, www.shanghaidaily.com
